Monday, April 04, 2022Short And Sweet Special Session Seen Taking Shape; One Day And Done Is Goal, Plus: LFC Has PTSD? And: Reader Vox Populi On Emerging '22 Gubernatorial Race And if our Senior Alligators in Santa Fe have it right, as they usually do, the news is that the special session of the legislature set for Tuesday could be a one day affair, perhaps similar to a 9 to 5 workday. One of the Gators privy to last week's caucus of state Senate Dems reports: Joe, instead of starting in at noon Tuesday the caucus agreed to an earlier start. They're hoping for a session that is done by the end of the work day. There won't be much on the agenda and a session that spills over into dissent could cast a pall on MLG who is up for re-election as well as the state House whose members are also standing for re-election. So what exactly are we looking at in terms of legislation? Of course, there will have to be a "feed bill," which provides the funding for the session. After that, the House and and Senate will address what the Governor has said will be the two items she will send downstairs--a rework of the $50 million junior appropriations bill that will have goodies for every sitting legislator and who were mighty upset when MLG vetoed the original junior bill. The most significant legislation will be the proposed rebates to provide inflation relief. What number will prevail is unknown but the $300 to $350 range is mentioned most, although higher numbers have begun to float. It remains unresolved if there will be an income cap on the rebates or whether all taxpayers will get the checks. The legislature has already approved $250 rebate checks for single households earning less than $75,000 and $500 for joint filers earning less than $150,000. Those checks are expected to hit the mailboxes and bank accounts in July. LFC=PTSD When talk of a second round of rebates began the Legislative Finance Committee lowballed the amounts, but that was soon dismissed. We asked one veteran lawmaker for analysis:. Joe, the LFC is traumatized from years of oil prices soaring and then crashing and impacting the budget. They have not been able to pivot to a new order in which those crashes--if they occur--are likely to be less severe because of the productivity and demand for the oil in the Permian Basin in the southeast. You can liken their mental state to PTSD and I wager that will be a cause for discussion going forward as these mammoth surpluses continue to roll in. To all those hard-working staffers at the LFC who may be traumatized, worry no more. Just take your troubles down to the local cannibas dispensary. You don't even need a medical card anymore. FOOTNOTE ABQ Dem State Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto will not be at this week's special session but that is not be taken as a sign that he is going to resign his seat as demanded by progressive groups who have accused him of multiple sexual harassment charges. Ivey-Soto says his mother has been stricken with brain cancer, has taken a turn for the worse and he is attending to her needs. As for the resignation demand, he reiterates his position that "there is a process to adhere to in investigating these cases and I support that process." GUV '22  I agree with reader Loni Griego. Dow and Ronchetti are extreme. How either draw Albuquerque to their camp I don’t see. I know they’ll pull to the center after the primary, but good luck with that after their recent TV ads. As I’ve said before, MLG is not my favorite, but she’s been consistent and not all that extreme in either direction. She managed the pandemic no better or worse than most governors. And she still has time to softens hearts with the special session. ABQ reader JG chimes in: MLG monumentally botched NM’s COVID response from which NM is still struggling to recover. Closing down NM’s economy other than for a few big box retailers was an economic disaster. And doing it without first bringing in stakeholders to explain the situation and solicit their solutions reinforces the “little dictator” view of MLG that I’m sure we’ll hear about this summer. GANGSTER CARTEL? As far as Ronchetti goes, he made the fatal move of throwing in with the pseudo conservative gangster cartel that was behind Susana Martinez. These are the same people that were responsible for the Common Core Curriculum and PARCC testing in schools and many other decisions that are anathema to real conservatives that believe in a limited but effective government. The pseudo conservative gangster cartel does not have a principled bone in their body. All they care about is the next buck. They relentlessly attacked fellow Republicans and they are the ones behind Ronchetti. The man for the job is heavy hitter Jay Block. He is the only candidate who has proven he could win in a heavily populated county and a Democratic county at that. In 2020 when both Trump and Ronchetti lost Sandoval, Block did not. TYPICALLY PARTISAN  Our state is in the tank Joe. You know it and I know it and Loni is just being a typical partisan, and that's fine. I'm a partisan. Just don't lie about it and say MLG has done a good job. With a super majority in the legislature and virtually no opposition anywhere, this lady has failed by every metric imaginable and our state shouldn't look this way. We're last on every one of those infamous lists with no end in sight and things are only getting worse by the day. So the next time someone wants to say she's doing a good job they should keep one thing in mind. The results do not align to the rhetoric and we're going to find that thousands of voters in this state will be voting this time on facts not feelings. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the comments and to Loni Griego for getting the '22 Guv debate rolling. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2022 |
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